12 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [J^"-. '^S 



cies Mestra (^Cystineura) a mjyf none which is usually restricted 

 in its northern distribution to the extreme southern portion of 

 Texas was very common about Austin. In fact dozens of them 

 could be captured hovering about the bushes of Eisenhardtia 

 on the University campus. In former years they were much 

 less numerous although an occasional specimen could be found. 



So far as I could ascertain no especially severe or protracted 

 southerly winds had been experienced there during the summer, 

 such as those which sometimes serve to carry large Lepidoptera 

 for great distances. 



Whether the Eubagis will ever establish itself as a perma- 

 nent inhabitant of this locality remains to be seen. 



Notes on Prionaptcryx nebulifcra Steph. 

 By Erich D^cke, Phila., Pa. 



(See Plate II.) 



The stunted growth of an isolated patch of huckleberry 

 bushes attracted my attention while collecting at lona, N. J., 

 May 26, 1902. The bushes were hardly eight inches high 

 growing on "a stretch of white sand so commonly found on the 

 pine barrens of southern New Jersey. The partial absence of 

 leaves on the bushes evidently indicated the work of some 

 insects, and looking closer I found that almost every stem was 

 thickened by a tube of white sand loosely spun together, lead- 

 ing from the ground and diverging to the various branches. 

 Whenever a branch w?,s defoliated the sand tubes were rather 

 dilapidated and partly missing, but the sand tubes leading to 

 fresh clusters of leaves looked as if they were of recent con- 

 struction. I opened one of these tubes, searched downward, 

 and reached a nest of minute black ants Pre^iolepis pdrvula 

 Mayr., about three inches below the surface of the ground. It 

 did not seem probable that these little ants could consume the 

 leaves of huckleberry, and the fact that the sand of these 

 tubes was put together by fine silken threads, left no doubt 

 that some Lepidopterous caterpillar was responsible for the con- 

 struction of these tubes, but I could not find a trace of a 

 caterpillar that day. I visited the place again, and after 

 searching diligently, found a very active and evasive cater- 



